New guy . Thanks!!

I am a little late in thanking everyone for the warm welcome I received when joining LJ.

With my father being a retired cabinet maker / carpenter, I have been around woodworking most of my life. I have experience rehabbing/remodeling houses, building decks, roofs, kitchens, baths, etc. I always wanted to learn how to really work with wood.

We have a small shop setup in my dad’s garage. Over the years my father and I have built a wide variety of items for family members or special orders. He has always taken the lead and I was basically labor and company. Now it is my turn to learn. Dad is enjoying helping. Pictured are a few of my current projects.

We made one of my daughters a kitchen cart with the base made of cherry and the top being an end grain maple cutting board 2” thick finished with a combination of mineral oil and paraffin wax. . Her kitchen had limited counter space. Something every college student should have.

A couple of serving trays, one made of walnut and maple and the other of mahogany and maple. A few crosses made of maple, pango and zebrawood with maple inlay. I made these for the family. And of course a couple of cutting boards and yes the Wood Whisperers design.

I just wanted to thank everyone for posting their projects and more importantly instruction on how it was made. I have a good understanding of woodworking but the instruction and tips from experienced woodworkers really helps.

All of these are really nice. Great choices of woods and great craftsmanship. On the checkerboard with, what looks like, walnut ends; how did you attach the pieces? It looks like it would be end-grain to long-grain? I’m interested to know how that detail is constructed. Thanks.

FatScratch. It is hard to tell from the picture but both the checkerboard and walnut piece are end-grain. It is a little more work but worth the time. The walnut end is a bunch pieces glued together. I made the checkerboard and walnut sections separate and joined them with a biscuit joiner and tight bond III. There are other joints that can give the board an interesting effect but being new to woodworking I used my biscuit joiner.

We have had that same board sitting on our counter for two years and all the joints all still tight. The only problem is my wife and serrated edge knifes. I have not been able to make a board to withstand her cutting :). Hope this helps.